Forced network portal

ABSTRACT

A system manages communications between a user and a network by receiving a user request for access to a network file during a user network connection session with a connecting network, determining whether the user has a connected user session state or a disconnected user session state with respect to a portal server, responding to a disconnected user session state by determining a user identity that specifies a physical location for the user and providing the user with a redirected page for display in a user graphical interface program in accordance with the determined user physical location user identification and in accordance with service selection information, and then changing the user session state to a connected state, and responding to a connected user session state by routing the user request for access to the network file to a network server. The system thereby controls user access to web pages, but does not require any specialized client-side software, and permits different content to be delivered according to the location of the user who will receive it.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/288,880 filed Apr. 9,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,084.

This application is a continuation in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.09/057,028 filed Apr. 8, 1998 U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,039, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/033,443 filed Mar. 2, 1998U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,601, which itself is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 08/919,397 filed Aug. 28, 1997 U.S. Pat. No.5,987,430.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to computer networks and, moreparticularly, to computer communication with networks.

2. Description of the Related Art

Access to the Internet is becoming increasingly popular with the generalpublic. Users gain access through a variety of means, including personalInternet service providers (ISP's) and high speed network connectionsthrough office systems, or fiber optic cable such as so-called cablemodems, or high speed digital lines such as ISDN or xDSL lines. It isbecoming increasingly important to support user access at all times,even as people travel away from their home and office. In addition tocommercial ISP's, who are in business solely to provide Internet access,many companies or institutions provide Internet access to employees,clients, or customers. For example, hundreds of users may be connectedby an office system, or by university networks, or hotel systems forguests. Typically, a user will view Internet content through a graphicalbrowser application, such as “Navigator” by Netscape CommunicationsCorp. or “Internet Explorer” by Microsoft Corporation. Such browsers areespecially proficient at retrieving graphical Internet pages (files)from the “World Wide Web” (WWW) and displaying a combination of images,moving video, and audio.

The web page that is displayed when such browser programs are launchedcan typically be selected by the individual user. Such a page isreferred to as a “home” page. Because the home page is displayed eachand every time the browser program is launched, it has not escaped theattention of advertisers that there is a built-in audience for viewingad content. As a result, many commercial enterprises have spentthousands of dollars designing web pages that users might find desirableenough to designate as their home page. Such a page becomes a jumpingoff point for the user during Internet access. Such web sites arereferred to as “portal” sites.

As with magazine circulation, the ad cost (or value of) a portal sitedepends largely on the number of viewers that the site experiences. As aresult, some Internet access providers have highly valued operations.For example, the America On-Line (AOL) service operates a proxy server,so that all AOL subscribers gain access to the Internet only through theAOL link. This means that all AOL users see the same home page, orportal site, which therefore can be valued for the delivery of adcontent. The proxy server system, however, requires special purposeaccess software to be installed on the user computer, and also requiresa large investment in infrastructure by the service provider. Moreover,despite having immense amounts of demographic data on subscribers, thehome page displayed to subscribers is not generally adapted for thespecific subscriber who is logging in.

Other portal sites are generally web sites with specialized content. Forexample, many Internet search engine and indexing services urge Internetusers to adopt their respective home pages as a portal site. Some ofthese services include Yahoo, Excite, and Alta Vista. Other companieshave developed their respective company home pages as portal sites forInternet users. Examples of these sites include Netscape CommunicationsCorp., Microsoft Corp., and specialized services such as “Sidewalk”travel information and “ZD Net” computer publications and information.

One advantage of such portal sites is that they do not require anyaction by the user beyond pointing their browser to the site. There isno special access software or equipment to install, and the operation ofthe user's computer is not changed. Thus, the content provider does notneed to invest in excessive infrastructure or distribution of specialsoftware. Portal sites such as these web pages, however, do not offerparticularized content. That is, all users see the same display pageupon visiting the web site. The value of such portal sites wouldincrease significantly if the presentation to users could be customizedfor each user. This would enable targeted advertising to be delivered.

Some sites can somewhat customize their presentation by storing userinformation, such as by maintaining “cookies” on the user's computer.When the user visits the portal web site, the web site server obtainsinformation from the cookie and adjusts the information sent to the userfor display. Examples of such modified web presentations include, forexample, news sites such as MSNBC. While such techniques permit someamount of customizing the display, user viewing is entirely voluntary.That is, users may register with such sites to obtain particularinformation that they have preselected, but they are in no way obligatedto visit such sites after registering. It would be more advantageous tocontent developers and advertisers if they could have assurance thatcertain users would be forced to view their sites when accessing webpages over the Internet.

From the discussion above, it should be apparent that there is a needfor an Internet access technique that controls user access to web pagesbut does not require any specialized client-side software, and permitsdifferent content to be delivered according to the user who will receiveit. The present invention fulfills this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a network in which communications betweena user and a network are provided by receiving a user request for accessto a network file during a user network connection session with aconnecting network, determining whether the user has a connected usersession state or a disconnected user session state with respect to aportal server, responding to a disconnected user session state bydetermining a user identity that specifies a physical location for theuser and providing the user with a redirected page for display in a usergraphical interface program in accordance with the determined userphysical location identification by username entry and in accordancewith service selection information, and then changing the user sessionstate to a connected state, and responding to a connected user sessionstate by routing the user request for access to the network file to anetwork server.

Other features and advantages of the present invention should beapparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment,which illustrates, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representation of a computer network system with one or moreclient computers that gain access to the Internet through a portalserver constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the portal server computer illustrated inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates the processing steps executedby the computer system of FIG. 1 to provide the forced portal inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a representation of the user table maintained by the portalserver illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a representation of a display on the client computer beforethe user has established a connection through the portal server of FIG.1.

FIG. 6 is a representation of a display on the client computer showingthe forced portal page from the portal server of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computing system 100 constructed inaccordance with the present invention. The system includes one or moreclient computers 102, 104 that are connected to the Internet 106 througha connecting network 108. When a user at a client computer wants to viewa web page, the user sends a message to the connecting network thatrequests the web page. In accordance with the invention, a portal server110 intercepts the user's page request between the connecting network108 and the Internet 106. The portal server determines whether or notthe user has already connected through the portal. If the user hasconnected, then the portal routes the user request to the Internet,where the request is delivered to an appropriate information source 112,114 so the requested page can be returned to the original user 102, 104.If the user has not previously connected through the portal, then theportal determines the exact physical location of the user and providesthe user with a redirected page for display in a user graphicalinterface program, based on the physical location user identity and onservice selection information. The portal server then changes the usersession state to show that the user is connected, and then routes theuser request for the web page to the Internet and the informationsources 112, 114. In this way, the portal server 110 forces a portaldisplay page to be viewed at the user 102, 104 until the user is deemedconnected.

It should be noted that the portal server 110 has great flexibility interms of the type of connecting network with which it can interface. Forexample, the connecting network 108 can comprise a local area network(LAN) at a particular site, such as at an office suite, hotel, multipleoffice business, or other network computer installation. Such aconnecting network can make use of independent means of gaining Internetaccess, such as through ISP's with high-speed digital connections orconventional analog telephone lines. Alternatively, the connectingnetwork 108 can itself be an ISP's user base. That is, the clientcomputers 102, 104 may comprise the subscribers to an ISP, and the ISPcan route all of its subscriber Internet traffic through the portalserver 110. In this way, the ISP can force any home page it desires onits subscribers, user-by-user, with a different home page for each, ifdesired.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer 200 that is used asthe portal server 110 (FIG. 1). It should be understood that any of theother computers at the clients 102, 104 or at the information sources112, 114 can have a similar construction. The information sources 112,114 for example can comprise network file servers that route web pagesalong the Internet, or can comprise e-mail servers or file transfer(ftp) servers. Similarly, the client computers 102, 104 can have avariety of computer configurations.

The computer 200 operates under control of a central processor unit(CPU) 202, such as a “Pentium” microprocessor and associated integratedcircuit chips, available from Intel Corporation. A user or operator atthe portal server computer 200 can input commands and data from akeyboard and display mouse 204, and can view inputs and computer outputat a display 206. The display is typically a video monitor or flat paneldisplay. The CPU 202 operates under control of programming steps thatare stored, temporarily, in memory 208 to the computer. The computeralso contains non-volatile data store 209, such as hard disk storage.Each computer communicates with the Internet and other networks, such asthe connecting network, through a network interface 210 that enablescommunication over a connection 212 between the computer 200 and eachnetwork 108, 106 (FIG. 1). The computer also can receive computerinstructions, or data, from a storage media reader 214. The storagemedia reader 214 receives storage media 216, from which it can readstored information. The storage media can comprise floppy diskettes orCD-ROM discs. That is, the storage media can contain program steps thatare read into the memory 208 and are then executed by the CPU to performa method for providing Internet access as described above. The storagemedia thereby comprises a program product that embodies: program stepsreceived by the CPU.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates the processing steps executedby the computer processing system 100 of FIG. 1 to implement theInternet access technique in accordance with the present invention. Inthe first step, represented by the FIG. 3 flow diagram box numbered 302,the user connects to the local network. This connection may be through alocal area network (LAN) that uses the TCP/IP protocol.

After the user is connected to the local network, the user launches abrowser program, such as “Navigator” by Netscape Communications, Inc. or“Internet Explorer” by Microsoft Corporation. This step is representedby the flow diagram box numbered 304. Next, the user requests anInternet page, as indicated by the FIG. 3 flow diagram box numbered 306.Thus far, the steps have been entirely conventional techniques forconnecting to the Internet and viewing pages at sites on the “World WideWeb”. Those skilled in the art will understand that the user request fora web page comprises an Internet protocol “GET” message that isgenerated by a user's browser and is sent along the Internet to theactual server where the web page resides, where the page is retrievedand returned to the user for viewing. The user request is passed alongby each server or router located between the user and the server wherethe web page resides. In this way, the user request is eventuallysatisfied so that the web page (or file) is retrieved for the user andthe user can view the requested web page. Thus, the processing of box306 involves a user browser at a client computer generating an Internet“GET” message.

In the next processing step for the access technique in accordance withthe invention, the portal server intercepts the user page request anddetermines the user session state. In particular, the portal servermaintains a secure user database that stores user identification (UserID), a port identification (Port ID), a physical location (Physical ID),and a Session State for each user who is on a local network thataccesses the Internet through the portal server. When the portal serverintercepts the GET message, the portal server checks the user database,finds the user identified as the source of the GET message, anddetermines the user session state. This processing step is representedby the FIG. 3 flow diagram box numbered 308.

FIG. 4 is a representation of the user table 400 stored in the memory ordata store of the portal server. The user table includes columns forUser ID 402, Port ID 404, Physical ID 406, and Session State 408. Anoptional Service Selection column 410 permits some customization of theuser's Internet experience, as described further below. Each row of theuser table corresponds to a different client computer and user. Data inthe FIG. 4 table is for purposes of illustration only. As explained morefully below, the Port ID and Physical ID are known to the portal serveronly for users who have connected through the portal server. Therefore,the user in FIG. 4 who is not connected has no data in the Port ID andPhysical ID columns. Thus, if the portal server intercepts a GET messagethat identifies the page requester as “Guest Jim”, the portal server caneasily determine that “Guest Jim” is using the client computer at Port82, in Room 203 of the Downtown Hotel (D. Hotel), and has alreadyconnected through the portal server.

Returning to the flow diagram of FIG. 3, after box 308, the portalserver next takes different action depending on whether it found therequesting user to be connected, as indicated by the decision box 310.If the portal server determines that the requesting user has alreadyconnected, an affirmative outcome at the decision box, then the portalserver routes the user web page request to the Internet and itscollection of routers and servers. The page is then returned to theuser, following usual Internet protocols and routing. This processing isrepresented by the flow diagram box numbered 312. Next, as indicated bythe flow diagram box numbered 314, the portal server ensures that theuser is provided with Internet access according to service selectioninformation. For example, the user may have indicated that certain websites are not to be available to anyone at that Physical ID. This may beespecially valued by parents who want to restrict the sites to whichchildren may visit. In this way, the Service Selection column of theUser Table permits the portal server to act as a local network firewalland control the user's Internet experience. After the portal serverroutes the user requests in accordance with the service selectioninformation, the system continues with normal operation.

Returning to the FIG. 3 decision box 310, if the portal serverdetermines that the web page requesting user is not connected, anegative outcome at the decision box, then the portal server sends a“Redirected page” message to the user, to obtain the user physicallocation. For the conventional Internet protocols, this may comprise an“SNMP Query” message, which will be familiar to those skilled in the artwithout further explanation. The “redirected page” processing isrepresented by the flow diagram box numbered 316. In accordance with IPprocessing, the redirected page results in the user's local connectionnetwork sending the portal server the user physical locationinformation. This processing step is represented by the flow diagram boxnumbered 318. Next, the portal server sends another redirected page tothe user and the local network, as indicated by the flow diagram boxnumbered 320.

Unlike the earlier Redirected message, however, the second Redirectedmessage, produced at box 320, results in a page being displayed at theuser's browser. The page to be displayed is the portal page that isbeing forced at the user's browser. The portal server sends a portalpage that has content that is customized to the user's physicallocation. Selection of content displayed can also be based on useridentification and service selection options. This provides greaterflexibility in tailoring the messages, advertising, or other contentthat will be presented to the user. For example, referring to FIG. 4,all persons who are guests at the “Downtown Hotel” may receive adifferent forced portal page from the one received by a user at the“Front Office” or received by residential customers. Even within a hotelor office, the system described can be tailored down to the individualphysical location, so that people in adjacent offices or rooms couldpotentially have different forced portal pages.

After the portal server sends the forced portal redirected page fordisplay, the portal server next changes the session state for the userin its table (FIG. 4) from “Disconnected” to “Connected”. For every pagerequest thereafter, when the portal server intercepts the request at box308, the user's request will be routed directly to the Internet afterthe portal server confirms that the user has already been connected.Thus, every user will be forced to view the forced portal display pageonce during an Internet session. Normal processing therefore returns tobox 306, where the user can continue requesting Internet pages.

As noted above, all users who are connecting through the portal serverfor the first time in a session will have their session status checked.If a user is not connected, then the server portal processing of box 320can include displaying a query to the user to determine if the userwants to be connected to the portal server. Such a display isillustrated by the display representation of FIG. 5, which shows aconventional browser window 500 in which a dialogue box 502 is shown,inquiring whether to connect through the portal server. It should beunderstood, however, that a negative response by the user to the query(do not connect through the portal server) will result in a halt to theInternet connection. As noted, every user will be forced to view theselected portal page once during an Internet session.

If a user connects to the Internet through the portal server, then asnoted above, the forced portal page can be selected according tospecific and precise user characteristics. An exemplary forced portalpage is illustrated in FIG. 6. As illustrated, the forced portal pagepermits users to link to, for example, local location information. Otherfeatures that can be provided on a forced portal page are links to aService Selection page and to an Authorization and Identification page.These pages provide a form interface that collects the informationneeded to modify Internet access through the portal server, followingauthentication of user permission. For example, a user can specify thata particular network access provider can be used. These features permitthe Internet service provider, whether providing Internet access foremployees in an office or a hotel or an entire city, to highly customizethe Internet experience.

The present invention provides a customized portal site to regulateInternet access and ensure that users must all go through a forcedportal display page. Because all users who gain access to the Internetmust go through the portal server, the forced portal page can be usedfor ad placement and the like, to ensure exposure. In this way, thenetwork communication scheme permits a greater customization for auser's Internet experience.

The present invention has been described above in terms of a presentlypreferred embodiment so that an understanding of the present inventioncan be conveyed. There are, however, many configurations for networkcommunication systems not specifically described herein but with whichthe present invention is applicable. The present invention shouldtherefore not be seen as limited to the particular embodiments describedherein, but rather, it should be understood that the present inventionhas wide applicability with respect to network communication throughportals generally. All modifications, variations, or equivalentarrangements and implementations that are within the scope of theattached claims should therefore be considered within the scope of theinvention.

We claim:
 1. A method of providing communication between a user and anetwork, the method comprising: receiving a user request for access to anetwork file during a user network connection session with a connectingnetwork; determining whether the user has a connected user session stateor a disconnected user session state with respect to a portal server;responding to a disconnected user session state by determining aphysical location for the user, providing the user with a redirectedpage for display in a user graphical interface program in accordancewith the determined user physical location, and changing the usersession state to a connected state; and responding to a connected usersession state by routing the user request for access to the network fileto a network server.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1, whereinresponding to a disconnected user session state comprises providing theuser with a redirected display page having authorization andidentification forms that define a service selection.
 3. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein responding to a disconnected user sessionstate comprises providing the user with a redirected display page havingauthorization and identification forms that specify a network accessprovider.
 4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the networkcommunications protocol comprises the Internet protocol (IP) and thestep of receiving a user request for access to a network file comprisesintercepting a user network GET request for a page file from a networkserver.
 5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the portal servermaintains a user IP address table containing session states for eachuser and determines the user session state by examining the user's entryin the IP address table.
 6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein thestep of determining a physical location for a disconnected user statecomprises the portal server sending an IP redirect page that is notdisplayed by the user's browser but contains an SNMP query that obtainsfrom the connecting network the physical location of the user.
 7. Amethod as defined in claim 6, wherein the step of providing the userwith a redirected page for display in a user graphical interface programcomprises displaying a forced portal page as the redirected page.
 8. Amethod of providing communication between a user and a network, themethod comprising: intercepting a network request for a network filefrom a network server at a portal server in order to identify aconnection state of the user; responding to a disconnected connectionstate by sending the user a redirected query page that identifies thephysical location of the user, determining a redirected portal page inaccordance with the user physical location, sending the user theredirected portal page, and changing the user connection state toconnected; and responding to a connected connection state by routing theoriginal network request to a network server and thereby providing theuser with access to the requested network file.
 9. A method as definedin claim 8, wherein the network communications protocol comprises theInternet protocol (IP) and the step of receiving a user request foraccess to a network file comprises intercepting a user network GETrequest for a page file from a network server.
 10. A method as definedin claim 9, wherein the portal server maintains a user IP address tablecontaining session states for each user and determines the user sessionstate by examining the user's entry in the IP address table.
 11. Amethod as defined in claim 10, wherein identifying the physical locationfor a disconnected user state comprises the portal server sending an IPredirect page that is not displayed by the user's browser but containsan SNMP query that obtains from the connecting network the physicallocation of the user.
 12. A method of providing communication between auser and a network, the method comprising: connecting the user to alocal connecting network; generating a network request at the user foraccess to a network file stored at a network server; intercepting thenetwork request at a portal server and determining the connection stateof the user; responding to a disconnected user state by: sending theuser a redirected query page that will identify the physical location ofthe user; determining a redirected portal page in accordance with theuser physical location; sending the user the redirected portal page; andchanging the user connection state to connected; and responding to aconnected user state by routing the original network request to anetwork server and thereby providing the user with access to therequested network file.
 13. A server that manages access by a user to anetwork, the server comprising a computer including: a centralprocessing unit that communicates with network information sources; andmemory that contains programming instructions executed by the centralprocessing unit to cause the computer to perform steps such that itreceives a user request for access to a network file during a usernetwork connection session with a connecting network, determines whetherthe user has a connected user session state or a disconnected usersession state with respect to a portal server, responds to adisconnected user session state by determining a physical location forthe user and providing the user with a redirected page for display in auser graphical interface program in accordance with the determined userphysical location, and changing the user session state to a connectedstate, and responds to a connected user session state by routing theuser request for access to the network file to a network server.
 14. Aserver as defined in claim 13, wherein the server responds to adisconnected user session state by providing the user with a redirecteddisplay page having authorization and identification forms that define aservice selection.
 15. A server as defined in claim 13, wherein theserver responds to a disconnected user session state by providing theuser with a redirected display page having authorization andidentification forms that specify a network access provider.
 16. Aserver as defined in claim 13, wherein the network communicationsprotocol comprises the Internet protocol (IP) and the server receives auser request for access to a network file by intercepting a user networkGET request for a page file from a network server.
 17. A server asdefined in claim 16, wherein the server maintains a user IP addresstable containing session states for each user and determines the usersession state by examining the user's entry in the IP address table. 18.A server as defined in claim 17, wherein the server determines thephysical location for a disconnected user state by sending an IPredirect page that is not displayed by the user's browser but containsan SNMP query that obtains from the connecting network the physicallocation of the user.
 19. A server as defined in claim 18, wherein theserver provides the user with a redirected page for display in a usergraphical interface program by displaying a forced portal page as theredirected page.
 20. A program product for use in a computer system thatexecutes program steps recorded in a computer-readable media to performa method for providing communication between a user and a network, theprogram product comprising: a recordable media; and a program ofcomputer-readable instructions executable by the computer system toperform method steps comprising: receiving a user request for access toa network file during a user network connection session with aconnecting network; determining whether the user has a connected usersession state or a disconnected user session state with respect to aportal server; responding to a disconnected user session state bydetermining a physical location for the user, providing the user with aredirected page for display in a user graphical interface program inaccordance with the determined user physical location, and changing theuser session state to a connected state; and responding to a connecteduser session state by routing the user request for access to the networkfile to a network server.
 21. A program product as defined in claim 20,wherein responding to a disconnected user session state comprisesproviding the user with a redirected display page having authorizationand identification forms that define a service selection.
 22. A programproduct as defined in claim 20, wherein responding to a disconnecteduser session state comprises providing the user with a redirecteddisplay page having authorization and identification forms that specifya network access provider.
 23. A program product as defined in claim 20,wherein the network communications protocol comprises the Internetprotocol (IP) and the step of receiving a user request for access to anetwork file comprises intercepting a user network GET request for apage file from a network server.
 24. A program product as defined inclaim 23, wherein the portal server maintains a user IP address tablecontaining session states for each user and determines the user sessionstate by examining the user's entry in the IP address table.
 25. Aprogram product as defined in claim 24, wherein the method step ofdetermining a physical location for a disconnected user state comprisesthe portal server sending an IP redirect page that is not displayed by auser's browser but contains an SNMP query that obtains from theconnecting network the physical location of the user.
 26. A programproduct as defined in claim 25, wherein the method step of providing theuser with a redirected page for display in a user graphical interfaceprogram comprises displaying a forced portal page as the redirectedpage.
 27. An apparatus for providing communication between a user and anetwork, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving a user requestfor access to a network file during a user network connection sessionwith a connecting network; means for determining whether the user has aconnected user session state or a disconnected user session state withrespect to a portal server; means for responding to a disconnected usersession state by determining a physical location for the user, providingthe user with a redirected page for display in a user graphicalinterface program in accordance with the determined user physicallocation, and changing the user session state to a connected state; andmeans for responding to a connected user session state by routing theuser request for access to the network file to a network server.
 28. Theapparatus as defined in claim 27, wherein the means for responding to adisconnected user session state comprises means for providing the userwith a redirected display page having authorization and identificationforms that define a service selection.
 29. The apparatus as defined inclaim 27, wherein the means for responding to a disconnected usersession state comprises means for providing the user with a redirecteddisplay page having authorization and identification forms that specifya network access provider.
 30. The apparatus as defined in claim 27,wherein the network communications protocol comprises the Internetprotocol (IP) and the means for receiving a user request for access to anetwork file comprises means for intercepting a user network GET requestfor a page file from a network server.
 31. The apparatus as defined inclaim 30, wherein the portal server maintains a user IP address tablecontaining session states for each user and determines the user sessionstate by examining the user's entry in the IP address table.
 32. Theapparatus as defined in claim 31, wherein the means for determining aphysical location for a disconnected user state comprises means forsending an IP redirect page that is not displayed by the user's browserbut contains an SNMP query that obtains from the connecting network thephysical location of the user.
 33. The apparatus as defined in claim 32,wherein the redirected page for display in a user graphical interfaceprogram comprises a forced portal page.
 34. The apparatus as defined inclaim 27, wherein the redirected page for display in a user graphicalinterface program is further in accordance with user identification andservice selection information.